McIntyre’s right to “freedom” does not trump that of others not to be subjected to crime.

Does a wheel-chair give license to aggravated trespass at Millbank? Or the fact that he had some help from “handrails” and “friends”? What guff!

LFF seems (conveniently) unable to discuss any of the events leading up to the incident, but it is clear that this man has engaged in criminal behaviour at the prior Millbank episode and had already had an angry confrontation with police earlier on the day: http://www.mitchell-images.com/#/jody-mcintyre/4546538655

To suppose that there are no circumstances whatsoever under which any wheelchair user can be removed by the police is plain silly, but that is exactly what Sarah Ismail’s musings appear to do.

Do all supposedly peaceful protesters have a right to endanger themselves and others by deliberately obstructing the police in their duties (for instance, by using an occupied wheel-chair to attempt to startle horses)?

Or is it reasonable for the rest of us to expect them to protest within the law and to obey the police, irrespective of which mobility aids happen to be in their possession at the time?

You can be sure that there is more to this story than McIntyre or LFF is willing to let on and that the suggestion here that McIntyre was merely “simply expressing his opinion” will be shown in the fullness of time to be rather an immodest fig-leaf.

Just because no commentator (least of all LFF) seems currently to know the reasons for the police officers’ actions does not mean they don’t exist. McIntyre could, of course, bring a formal complaint against the police to make known the full circumstances…

In the mean-time, a sceptic may reasonably suggest that McIntyre set out to use his wheel-chair rather than his brain to cause trouble rather than win any debate, and in so doing he got exactly the personal attention he sought, with no care for how much it would detract from the “argument” about education cuts (he used most of the BBC interview to talk about his wheel-chair and – very curiously – to accuse the organisation of pro-Israeli bias).

There are plenty of disabled people who succeed in engaging in debate at all levels without resorting to militancy, law-breaking, or wrapping their “argument” in irrelevant disability issues (e.g. there is at least one sitting MP with cerebral palsy). Some of his fellow wheel-chair users might feel he has rather let the side down.

That McIntyre has overcome massive adversity throughout his life is beyond doubt.

That his approach to “peaceful” protest is valid (or even effective) is not.

Whilst I do not condone the violence I think there are issues with the policing which should be addressed.

You don’t read a richard littlejohn article, you just colour in the characters.